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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045591">Every Road Leads to an End</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626'>Morpheus626</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingsman (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:09:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045591</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My first Kingsman fic, this one in particular set Post-Golden Circle. I’ve got a lot more planned, for this time period plus during each movie and in between, but for now, I think this is a good start. </p>
<p>A forewarning that I’m taking canon and making it what I want, because while I love the movies dearly, there’s also a good number of things I’d have maybe done differently, or at least messed about with and considered changing. For one, the little pup Eggsy gets Harry in Golden Circle? He’s around again, because I wanted to know what happened to the puppy. I named him PJ, for Pickle, JR (after dear Mr. Pickle.) </p>
<p>I do not yet know how long this fic will be in terms of chapters, despite having written this first one and started the second one...awhile ago lol. But I wanted to at least get the first one up here since it's already on Tumblr.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Hart | Galahad/Merlin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Every Road Leads to an End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="copy">
  <p>“You texted me, and I quote, ‘Major emergency, come quickly.’ This-” </p>
  <p>“Is an emergency,” Harry finished. </p>
  <p>Eggsy stared down at PJ, who was wagging his tiny tail happily. “This is dog-sitting. I thought there was a mission, and I’m only supposed to be called back in the event of that or-.” </p>
  <p>“There is, this!” </p>
  <p>“Okay, and where are you off to then? If there isn’t a mission, aside from watching your dog,” Eggsy asked as he picked up PJ.</p>
  <p>“I…have a date.” </p>
  <p>“You have…where did you meet…I have so many questions,” Eggsy said. </p>
  <p>“And they will have to wait; I am already late. Thank you for arriving so promptly, instructions are on the fridge regarding PJ’s dinner and bedtime, and I’ve left you money for your dinner,” Harry was like a bullet on track to its target, walking fast enough Eggsy could hardly keep up as he followed him to his bedroom. </p>
  <p>“Oi! Now I get to ask at least one question before you go.” </p>
  <p>“Fine, one. Then I need to finish dressing; I cannot find the right color pocket square I need-” </p>
  <p>“I’ll help you find it if you answer,” Eggsy interrupted. “Where’d you meet her?” </p>
  <p>“Him.” </p>
  <p>“Okay, him. Where was it? I mean, you’re something of a homebody, when you aren’t working-” </p>
  <p>“I am not,” Harry scoffed, and turned to rifle through the pile of folded pocket squares tossed on his bed. “I do things.” </p>
  <p>“You texted me a week ago, and I quote-” </p>
  <p>“That is quite enough of my quotes, I think.” </p>
  <p>“You keep interrupting like that; I’ll just find more of them. Anyway, as I was saying, you said ‘lots of excitement tonight, saw a fox in the garden.’ I mean…Harry.” </p>
  <p>“Are you going to help me find it, or not? I need the same shade of salmon as my tie, and I’ve found every other shade under the bloody sun, and I even sort these by shade, I’ll have you know, and,” Harry sighed and tossed a handful of squares back onto the bed. </p>
  <p>“You’re nervous!” </p>
  <p>“I have been in situations far worse than a first date; I am not made nervous by this,” Harry shook his head, and shuffled through another bunch of squares. </p>
  <p>“You are absolutely a nervous wreck, oh my God. This is adorable! Look at your dad, PJ. I have never seen you like this.” </p>
  <p>Harry sighed again, clearly exasperated, and turned to Eggsy. </p>
  <p>“Put the face away, I’ll help. Now, don’t get mad, but could you just wear a different color tie, that matches one of the squares we know are here and ready to be worn?” </p>
  <p>The kiss on the cheek wasn’t expected, but it was sweet. “Eggsy! Genius! I’ll change it straightaway, then-ooh, I’m going to be even later! I don’t have an excuse for that, we had a reservation and everything…” </p>
  <p>“Tell him I was late showing up. I don’t mind taking the blame,” Eggsy bit back a giggle as Harry whirled past him to another drawer. “Would I know him, if I saw him?” </p>
  <p>Harry stopped dead. </p>
  <p>“Harry?” </p>
  <p>He turned again, a new silk light green tie in his hand. “I can’t…I will tell you. All of it, later. I promise you that. This is also, technically, a mission. That turned into more, and if anyone else with Kingsman or Statesman found out it had, the trouble we would be in.” </p>
  <p>“So he works for Statesman?” </p>
  <p>“No.” </p>
  <p>“He works for us?” </p>
  <p>“Eggsy, please,” Harry sighed desperately as he switched ties. “Like I said, I will tell you everything, later. Once things are more…solid.” </p>
  <p>“As in your relationship with him, or the mission?” Eggsy asked as he set down PJ, and swatted Harry’s hand away from the tie. “You’ve got it all crooked, hang on. And is the mission to…you know?” </p>
  <p>“Eggsy!” </p>
  <p>“Just checking! Even if it isn’t, I mean, I can spend the night here with PJ. I’m already the ‘Prince That’s Never Seen’ to the Swedish media. Won’t be any issue if I’m not home for a day or two, and I let Tilde know it might be a few days, depending on what was going on. So, you know. If things happen…let them happen. Have some fun. Safe fun, I mean, actually, do you have-” </p>
  <p>Harry was bright red as he snatched up the matching pocket square and his coat from his bed, and strode out of the bedroom with Eggsy and PJ on his heels. </p>
  <p>“Oh, look at him blush! PJ, your dad is gonna have a wonderful night, isn’t he?” </p>
  <p>PJ barked in response, wiggling as Eggsy picked him up again. </p>
  <p>“Yes, he is, and then he’s going to tell us all about it when he gets back,” Eggsy continued, even as Harry spluttered half-protests, sighing and shaking his head as he walked out the front door. </p>
  <p>Without any shoes on. </p>
  <p>“Give him a minute,” Eggsy told PJ, who stared up curiously at him. “He’ll realize in one, two, three, and-” </p>
  <p>“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Harry spat as he stomped back inside, struggling on with his shoes before heading back out, one oxford still untied. </p>
  <p>“That’s a lad,” Eggsy smiled. “C’mon PJ. I think you deserve your dinner, and I will order mine, and then I think a movie is in order. We’ll find something with a dog in it, just for you.” </p>
  <p>It wasn’t long before they were settled on the couch; PJ fed and a pizza box open on the coffee table, and the closest thing Eggsy could find for ‘something with dogs’ (an episode of Planet Earth) on the TV for PJ. </p>
  <p>Then his phone buzzed with a text alert. </p>
  <p>
    <em>Stuck between a rock and a hard place. Advice?</em>
  </p>
  <p>Eggsy frowned at the text from Harry. Text were strictly for non-Kingsman, and non-confidential and/or coded Kingsman business. This, however, wasn’t code for anything that he knew of. </p>
  <p>
    <em>Is one of the things the guy you’re seeing? And if so, what is the other thing? </em>
  </p>
  <p>He could hear Harry’s frustration in the reply.</p>
  <p>
    <em>No! Not exactly. He invited me over, but he knows we’d both be in trouble if anyone knew about this; no one is even supposed to know he’s alive!!</em>
  </p>
  <p>That many exclamation points signaled a show of proper emotion from Harry, whatever this was, it was deeply serious to him. But it was hard to advise when he only had not even a quarter of the story. He sent back his biggest question. </p>
  <p>
    <em>Who?????!!!!!!</em>
  </p>
  <p>For about five minutes, there was nothing, and he almost set his phone back down on the coffee table. Then: </p>
  <p>
    <em>Merlin.</em>
  </p>
  <p>“Fucking hell,” Eggsy murmured. “And how in the hell? There’s no way…somebody has to be fucking with him, which means who knows what he’s gotten himself into now.” </p>
  <p>He sighed, and bemoaned that he had left his luggage at his hotel, rather than bringing it with. There wouldn’t be enough time to get it, change into a suit, and try and configure Harry’s location so he could get there. </p>
  <p>Unless. </p>
  <p>He hadn’t ever actually spent a night in Harry’s guest room, but Harry had always assured him it was supplied for him, should he and Tilde ever need a place to stay. Searching it proved just that: three suits with varying colors of ties and other accouterments for him, and three matching dresses and pants suits for Tilde, plus three tiny matching jackets that would have fit JB. </p>
  <p>“PJ, you hold down the fort, yeah? You’re a big boy now, I think I can trust you,” Eggsy said as he finished putting in his cuff links and pulled on his jacket, watching as PJ settled down on the couch with a sigh, his grey wiry fir blending into the dark material. “I’m gonna go make sure your dad makes it home, and when we get back, we’ll have that leftover pizza. I’ll make sure he lets you have a little, promise.” </p>
  <p> From there, he was on his own. His watch and glasses let him track Harry somewhat, but wherever he was, he was on the move. With whoever this impostor Merlin was, surely, and that was who he really wanted to track. But even if this Merlin was using any Kingsman or Statesman tech, he wasn’t registering on any of Eggsy’s gear. </p>
  <p>He got as close as an Italian restaurant, dropped off by a non-Kingsman cab, if only so as not to arouse Harry or the faux-Merlin’s suspicions if they were near enough to see it. There, outside of it, the dot representing Harry had stopped. Or so it seemed to have, finally, though at no point had the dot gone into the restaurant, leaving him wondering where on earth the actual dinner had been, and why on earth Harry was stumbling around in the dark with the faux-Merlin. </p>
  <p>There were a few dark alleyways just near the restaurant. A small chance to be sure, too easy if anything. But as he wandered down the first, the blip of Harry’s dot on the map superimposed over his glasses got louder and louder and-</p>
  <p>“Jesus,” Eggsy ducked behind a bin, then peeked back out over it. </p>
  <p>Up against a nearby wall in the alley were Harry, and what for all the world looked like Merlin, kissing hard and utterly unaware of anything else going on around them, apparently, since he hadn’t exactly been quiet as he’d ducked away. </p>
  <p>“If I’m wrong,” Eggsy whispered to himself, then shook his head. Even if this was somehow real, Merlin had somehow survived the land mine and was safe and back, it was better to check, to interrupt and know for sure. </p>
  <p>“Let him go,” he stood and pulled his pistol, pointing it at the possibly faux Merlin. </p>
  <p>“I think he’d rather I didn’t,” and god it sounded like Merlin. “Harry, did you not tell him?” </p>
  <p>“I was going to, later,” Harry hissed, and whipped around. “Put that down! What on earth are you doing?” </p>
  <p>“Not many men could survive a land mine. Fewer still could survive it, and be repaired well enough to go into hiding afterwards. So if you really are Merlin, and if you are…know that I am sorry for all this, but I’ve got to have answers. As of right now, I have no proof you aren’t some…double, hell bent on doing God knows what with Harry-” </p>
  <p>“Hell bent on doing something with him, that’s for sure,” Merlin murmured and giggled, pressing a kiss to Harry’s cheek. “If you’re still up for it, after we explain things and send Eggsy on home.” </p>
  <p>Harry sighed and pushed himself away from Merlin. “Look. I-I should have just told you everything straight away. I know you, and you’re a good agent. And a good agent would have done just as you’re doing now. It’s just…I mean, this was a date!” </p>
  <p>“Still is,” Merlin called from the wall. “This isn’t quite how I saw it going, no, and I certainly didn’t think Eggsy would be involved, but this doesn’t ruin the night or anything.” </p>
  <p>“Oh my God,” Harry muttered, and pushed his glasses up as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. </p>
  <p>Eggsy lowered his gun. “Well?” </p>
  <p>“Tell you what,” Merlin said, striding forward. “You both come back to mine, for now. We can explain things, then Eggsy, you can go back home feeling that all is well-” </p>
  <p>“To Harry’s, actually. I was dog sitting,” Eggsy interrupted before stowing his gun away. </p>
  <p>“Right,  back to Pickles, JR, then, knowing that all is well and Harry is safe,” Merlin continued. “And Harry, if you’d like, well…” </p>
  <p>“I could just about die right now. And I’ve never said that about anything,” Harry sighed. </p>
  <p>“Dramatic, outside of work, isn’t he?” Merlin snickered as he led them out of the alley and down the sidewalk. “Part of why I asked him out, you know. Nice to get to see the man under the agent again. Don’t get me wrong, I love the agent, but I liked the man first.”</p>
  <p>“Makes sense,” Eggsy replied, giggling as Harry blushed ever more red, trailing just behind them. “So, did you two ever…before this, I mean?” </p>
  <p>“That’s a lot of old history to be getting into,” Merlin smiled. “Maybe a bit too much for tonight, but later on, perhaps-” </p>
  <p>“Oh my God,” Harry muttered again.</p>
  <p>“Think I should take the overuse of that phrase as a good sign for later?” Merlin asked with a positively wicked grin. </p>
  <p>“MERLIN!” </p>
  <p>Eggsy and Merlin fell against each other in a fit of laughter as Harry sighed deeply yet again. </p>
  <p>He calmed once they were in Merlin’s house though, his coat off and tossed onto the couch as if he lived there, and Eggsy half-wondered as they settled onto it. </p>
  <p>“So. I’ll make a long story short, so you can get back to PJ, and we can get back to…other things,” Merlin said. “I did survive the mine, but barely. And I very nearly didn’t survive the jungle, because my tracker didn’t click on again to let Ginger Ale know I was still kicking until you all had already left.” </p>
  <p>“How the hell did you survive?” </p>
  <p>Merlin shrugged. “I shouldn’t have, Eggsy. Chalk that one up to dumb luck, perhaps. That, and Ginger Ale, or should I say now, Agent Whiskey’s fantastic medical research and work with prosthetics.” </p>
  <p>Eggsy gestured to Merlin’s legs. “I have to admit, I was curious.” </p>
  <p>“Amazingly built prosthetics, all thanks to Agent Whiskey. She assembled a team to get me out, get me to Kentucky, and get me healed and well again. And she would have told you and Harry both right away, but-” </p>
  <p>“It wasn’t assured he would survive,” Harry interrupted. “And so I asked them not to say anything to you at that time. I didn’t want you to lose him twice. I figured it, rather selfishly, I admit, that it would be enough for me to lose him twice.” </p>
  <p>“But you didn’t,” Merlin said softly, grabbing Harry’s hand. “I’m right here, not going anywhere.” </p>
  <p>Harry only nodded, but Eggsy could see his fingers tighten around Merlin’s. </p>
  <p>“With you still not knowing I was alive, and my continued survival not assured at that point, I was put into a sort of hiding. Kept in Kentucky, under Statesman medical care and guard. I remain under their guard now, to some degree, and not Kingsman guard because, well-” Merlin shrugged. “Kingsman is still rebuilding. We have Agent Tequila here, and Harry, and yourself as a reserve agent, but that isn’t much. And there’s concern that some of the guards I tried to take out with me are still out there, and might be looking for me.” </p>
  <p>“Didn’t they find them all? Or all the pieces of them, I guess,” Eggsy asked. </p>
  <p>“Enough…pieces to make up all the bodies except for two. We might have presumed they were just truly blown to smithereens, until certain messages started to arrive at various locations, specifically the rubble of the Kingsman HQ and your old home, Eggsy. Agent Whiskey was the one who suggested surveillance on those locations and a few others after I was recovered from the field, and thank goodness she did. We might never have seen them until it was too late, otherwise.” </p>
  <p>“Too late?” </p>
  <p>“Attacks,” Harry said. “On Statesman HQ, specifically trying to get to the medical ward. One got damned close too. No identifiable information on them, except that everything done to erase their identity was similar to what Poppy had done to her cronies. Erased fingerprints, filed down teeth, all that. But since we know Poppy is dead, that tells us nothing. And the henchman that we thought died when the land mine went off weren’t identifiable either, not even the pieces of the dead ones. So figuring out who the live ones are, if they are alive, and where they are…” </p>
  <p>“Damn near impossible, until another attack, which hasn’t happened because you’ve been kept under guard here. And that’s why no one was supposed to know you’re alive,” Eggsy finished. </p>
  <p>“And why this,” Harry sighed, picking up Merlin’s hand and kissing it, “is so very risky. If anything happened as a result of me, I swear-” </p>
  <p>“I know, and I’m willing to take the risk,” Merlin interrupted. “Anyone would for someone they love. Eggsy would for Tilde, essentially does being married while being an agent, right Eggsy?” </p>
  <p>Eggsy nodded. “Harry. You shouldn’t deny yourself this, happiness, just because of the risk. There’s always going to be something, you know? Life just isn’t that easy, that safe…especially for us. Tilde and I, we know the risk, and we both accept it to be together. If you and Merlin feel the same…why not go for it?” </p>
  <p>The look Harry was giving Merlin gave Eggsy his out. “And, that said, I think maybe my portion of the evening is complete, and the portion with you two is uh…yeah. I’m gonna head out, go back and let PJ have the bit of pizza I promised him, and then turn in for the night, and you two aren’t even paying attention to a word I’m saying right now.” </p>
  <p>They certainly didn’t seem to be, again concerned only with each other and kissing and the fussing about with Harry’s tie, which was plenty for Eggsy to see. </p>
  <p>“I mean good for ‘em, you know?” he told PJ as they snuggled on the couch, his suit hung back up in the guest room of Harry’s house, the pizza warmed up for a late night/early morning snack. “But…bit like watching your parents snog, you know? Like, they’re adults, consenting and all that and isn’t like that…urge disappears as you age, I just. It was time for me to not see anymore. You get it, right, PJ?” </p>
  <p>PJ whimpered, and snuggled in closer. He was laid out on Eggsy’s chest, and very nearly had his cold nose poking Eggsy’s chin as he moved closer and closer. </p>
  <p>“Aw. You just miss your dad, don’t you? Well, never fear, he’ll be home in the morning. Er, later morning, considering the time. Dads have to have their fun too, and in the meantime you’ve got me!” </p>
  <p>Eggsy flicked off the TV and closed his eyes, listening to PJ’s soft breathing as he finally fell asleep. </p>
  <p>And then his watch buzzed on his wrist. </p>
  <p>He carefully moved his arm, to not disturb PJ, and looked at the alert.</p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <b>ALL KINGSMAN AND STATESMAN AGENTS, REPORT TO NEAREST HQ LOCATION IMMEDIATELY. AGENT COMPROMISATION HAS OCCURRED. </b>
    </em>
  </p>
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